Sarah Bertolozzi was in Manhattan and posted what appeared to be a screengrab from the app that showed her fare being 1.8 times higher than usual.

Shaun King, a journalist at the New York Daily News, said reports of higher fares were true after he and his family found themselves stranded in the same part of the city.

He wrote on Twitter: “My family and I were out in Manhattan and many of our train lines were closed. Uber prices surged up.”

Michael Cohen, executive vice president of The Trump Organisation and special counsel to the presidential nominee, said: “NYC explosion causes residents to attempt to get home. Uber taking total advantage of chaos and surcharging passengers 1.4 to 1.8 times.”